Calling all Long Ear fans...

[Maybeapril]

I went to look for a pony today and the people had the most adorable mini donkey. He looked like he was begging me to take him home. I have a couple of questions that maybe you guys could help me answer. He had a dry cough which worried me. Any ideas what that could be? He also looks like he has a roached back. I told the guy I thought he was cute and that I would think about it. Tell me what you guys think. Should I get him? He is supposedly two and he would need to be gelded. He just looked like he needs a family at Christmas to love him.

[Nin]

Mine does not cough trying to get a bray out. You probably want to have a vet take a look at him.

[pricestory]

I answered some on the other thread but hadn't seen that he is 2 and needs to be gelded.
Just one more thought, gelding donkeys isn't quite like gelding horses. Their testicles are huge with a huge blood supply and it makes the process much harder. Just be sure you have a vet that knows what they are doing. It also took as much sedation to lay my little guy out as a clydsdale. And we thought he was never getting up again.
Good luck with him. Donkeys are God's sweetest creatures but you want one that even if not healthy now (cough), you can get that way soon.

[aspenlucas]

I have two donkeys, I got a 2 year old jack at auction, and had him gelded. Ditto on the big testicles lots of blood. We had to be careful with him. Then I rescued a two year old jenny that was foundered. She was a long process of getting her to come around as far as health. Her feet were bad, but now she is the sweetest thing and probably one of the last of my animals I'd part with "if things ever got that bad". She has changed my life as I'm sure I have hers. We have quiet moments every morning. I just adore her. Both my donkeys have very flat toplines. I wouldn't call them roach backed. Has he been dewormed. Don't donkey's carry lungworms? I know when I acquired mine the vet said I had to be vigilant on deworming EVERYONE, and I think it was lungworms.

[Maybeapril]

I'm was afraid it might be lung worm. if they have been there a while what kind of damage might the worms do? If I started him on ivermectin would that get rid of them and then nothing more to worry about except keeping him utd on everything. This place where he is did not seem like there animals would be upd on anything!

[pricestory]

It he is only 2, maybe even if it is lungworm, it wouldn't be too bad. Talk to your vet. I worm every other month with Ivermec. just to be sure we don't have any problems with them.

[theoldgreymare]

It also took as much sedation to lay my little guy out as a clydsdale.

No exaggeration there. Our little guy has to be sedated every time he is trimmed. The only thing that works for his is a Dormo/Xylexine cocktail and lots of it!

Op....donkey's are one of the sweetest creatures in the world and make great pasture pals/babysitters. I would have the vet check his cough before purchasing though.

[Maybeapril]

Well I told the guy today that we want him. He was only 100 dollars so I went ahead took a chance. I'll have the vet take a look at him once we get him. He also needs to be gelded. We will have him home with us in the next couple of days.

[Creaghgal]

Must see photos. ASAP.

:)

[Maybeapril]

I will post pictures once he gets here. I don't have any yet. My son said that he looks sad because he must miss his mommy. After that comment I couldn't quit thinking that I wanted to give the little guy a home and family for Christmas. I really am excited about his arrival. I hope he gets along with the pot belly piggie.

[MEP]

Congratulations on your new family member! Photos needed asap! :D

p.s. I've got 4 of them hee hee hee

[chai]

congratulations maybeapril! I'm so glad you decided to give him a new home. I second the opinion that it sounds like lungworm. I had a standard jack for 18 years until he died, sadly, of lymphoma last year and we were given two adorable minis, Lovey and Thurston, who make me laugh at least once a day.
Donkeys are smart, affectionate and playful. It may take a little time to win his trust but when you do, it will be a strong bond.

Please post pictures!

Here are Lovey and Thurston:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y97/eastmeadowfarm/2008_02242608feb0006.jpg

[CanterQueen]

You've made a great decision!! I have my own little gelded mini-donkey in the back yard and he's a riot! The horses love him and he has no problem pushing the horses around when he's not getting his way.

Mine also has a dry coughing sound when he starts to bray. I had the vet check him when she came out to do the castration and she said he's fine. His castration went well, with a very fast recovery.

Here he is with two of our three horses:
http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o332/redhorsegoesfast/Horses/Thethreeamigos.jpg

[Baroque-n-Dreams]

My friend's had a dry cough for a while. Vet couldn't identify what was causing it and thought it might be some plant that had spored and was irritating him. We brought him over to our place for a while and the cough went away after about a month. He's been back home with no resurfacing of the cough now for over a year.

Our donkeys often end up with their backs looking roached from grooming each other and they have been reaching through the fence and doing the same to my minis. Right now, one of the girls looks like a reverse ridgeback or something because of the "grooming". LOL

As with all purchases of this type, you should have the vet take a look at him and see if they find anything or have concerns. There is no way for any of us to make that call over the internet. :)

[jenm]

I will post pictures once he gets here. I don't have any yet. My son said that he looks sad because he must miss his mommy. After that comment I couldn't quit thinking that I wanted to give the little guy a home and family for Christmas. I really am excited about his arrival. I hope he gets along with the pot belly piggie.


Congratulations!! I can't wait to see pictures. When will he arrive? How bout some pics of the piggie, also?! :)

[Maybeapril]

Thanks for all the support! I'm so excited about him. My husband may be more excited than I am. We should be getting him the day after Christmas. I'm in the process of putting a fence up. We are getting a horse in a week or so we were working on everything for him and the donkey was kind of an after thought. I can't believe this is really happening. We have the run in up and ready and I am doing the horse guard fence. I've been putting the insulators on the posts all day. Tomorrow we put the actual tape up and I pray we are able to figure out how to set up the charger. This has been my dream my whole life and finally it is becoming a reality. It is so hard to believe, but it's happening. I even went and bought hay today. We got it home and I literally started crying when I smelled it. It was just heavenly! Okay I'm rambling. I know if anybody would understand this thrill it would be my fellow COTHers.